Need help removing metal plate from bottom of GX270 board

[Arpajon]

I have a bad capacitor in the row behind the CPU. I've removed the heatsink and CPU but can't figure out how to get the metal plate off the bottom of the motherboard so I can reach the place where the bad capacitor's pins go through. Before I destroy something, I thought I'd ask for help. I've searched for a solution, but all the name guesses I've tried for the 'CPU base bracket' have been fruitless.

Thanks in advance for any help.
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I should add that the one I'm working on has white plastic clips. I just saw one with black metal screws - I think I could figure out how to remove that one... :-)

[theOracle]

this metal plate is glued down and glued down quite well!

DO NOT try to use a knife, etc. - you will ruin traces on the backside of the board

the only safe removal method is a heat gun - like this one!

[Arpajon]

Thanks for that info. It sure looks like removing those white pins would release the plate. In fact, later yesterday I found another one with bad caps that had the black screws holding that plate on - I took them out and it dropped right off.

[theOracle]

many Dell computers had the metal plates glued on, you can tell them by the fact that when you are looking at the board carefully, you are thinking what the heck is holding this plate on, there are no fasteners holding it on, why doesn't it just pop right off with my thumbnail?

[Arpajon]

Originally Posted by theOracle

...you are thinking what the heck is holding this plate on?

That wasn't my thought here. This one has what look like white plastic push pins in each corner that appear to go through the CPU retention mechanism to the bottom of the board and either have pins/tabs you can push together or maybe even unscrew. We had no luck trying that, or by pushing on the bottom of the pin, or by trying to pry them up using their 'head.'

I've never seen anything like this, so I decided to seek advice before I ruined something.

[theOracle]

on the ones that use glue, the entire metal surface of the plate seems firmly attached to the board, not just the corners

it's like you could not slide a sheet of paper anywhere under the metal plate, at any point

so if yours seems only attached at the four corners, then it is probably not the glued type

[Arpajon]

Originally Posted by theOracle

so if yours seems only attached at the four corners, then it is probably not the glued type

You can see all the way through the underneath, from side to side. Looking at the bottom, there are four indentions, one in each corner, with the pin sticking through and apparently secured by some type of clip.

I was hoping this was not a little-used type of securing mechanism so that someone here would recognize the type and let me know how to remove it as simply as possible.

[kc8adu]

push the white pins out from the bottom.a small screwdriver will do.
then pull the retainer off the top.

[momaka]

What kc8adu said ^
The white pins can be a bit of a PITA to remove sometimes, but that's how it's done. If you happen to break any of the white push pins, just substitute some proper sized screws in their place. That's what I did for mine (the first GX270 I tried).

You can see the results in this picture (top left corner of the heat sink bracket):
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/attachm...8&d=1334645782

[brethin]

Originally Posted by theOracle

this metal plate is glued down and glued down quite well!

DO NOT try to use a knife, etc. - you will ruin traces on the backside of the board

the only safe removal method is a heat gun - like this one!

WRONG They are not glued. They use a small white plastic o-ring type gromit that can be spread out and removed from the top and the pins will drop through. There is no glue anywhere on these. If you got one with glue some idiot put it there not Dell.

[brethin]

Originally Posted by theOracle

on the ones that use glue, the entire metal surface of the plate seems firmly attached to the board, not just the corners

it's like you could not slide a sheet of paper anywhere under the metal plate, at any point

so if yours seems only attached at the four corners, then it is probably not the glued type

That is because they use a cushion pad (NOT GLUE) between the metal plate and the bottom of the motherboard which over time tends to stick a bit to the board from being heated. IT is NOT Glue! And Dell has NEVER used GLUE of any type for this.

[theOracle]

if you will go back and reread this thread, I was obviously referring to a different Dell series. - Many Dell LGA 775 MicroATX boards used glued on metal backing plates, for your information!

And Dell has NEVER used GLUE of any type for this.

yes, I am afraid they have, for example I am holding in my hand a brand new Dell motherboard p/n RY007 out of a brand new Inspiron 530S and it is glued! - from the Dell factory.

So you might want to find out what you are talking about first, before using terms like "never"

[AySz88]

Adding information into this ancient thread because it seems like the only freaking place on the Internet discussing the removal of the Dell Optiplex GX270 heatsink retention bracket (Plastic piece is P/N 5Y747, metal piece is P/N 2F402). (There you go, Googlebot, hopefully that's enough keywords.)

I had to destroy the white plastic push-pins entirely - they were too tight a fit, even after popping up the pins (from the top of the mobo) using a screwdriver. First, with the mobo upside down, I cut the plastic tips, then removed material from the center of the "pin" with a manual hand drill (a very basic one - just a drill bit with a hand grip on it). That gives the pin enough room to deform - eventually some downward force with the same drill allowed me to push the pins through the board.

The metal bracket isn't glued on (in this case). There's a plastic insulating film that has some adhesive that sticks it to the mobo, but you can just fold and tape it out of the way while re-capping.

I may have missed an easier way to do it, but this is the way I found....

[edit] Oh, and you need to replace the push-pin with a screw (or maybe screw and nut). Will update with specifics.

[AySz88]

Oops, took too long to edit.

To re-attach, I used M4-.7 x 10MM screws with (M4-.7) nuts. (Alternatives exist.) Couldn't find a screw that had threads that could grab the plate precisely, and I would guess the tolerances probably vary too much from plate to plate anyway.

(You *can* manage to push out the pins from the bottom without drilling - but it requires way more force than I'd be comfortable recommending. Plus, they don't really hold properly if you try to reuse them, probably because of the bit of plastic that you need to cut off to get at the pin.)

[momaka]

Originally Posted by AySz88

To re-attach, I used M4-.7 x 10MM screws with (M4-.7) nuts. (Alternatives exist.)

Good info. Thanks for adding it .

I still have my GX270 motherboard ever since I last posted here. It is still sitting unused, though.

[soulseducer]

old post hope u found out solution. just got pc with bad cpu capacitors and faced same issue as urs so stumble upon this thread in search of solution
here whay i did. motherboard facing up used screwdriver to pull up those white studs enough to use needle nose pliers anf pull forcely upwards. done without damaging anything
hope this help

[soulseducer]

Originally Posted by soulseducer

motherboard facing up used screwdriver to pull up those white studs enough to use needle nose pliers anf pull forcely upwards. done without damaging anything
hope this help

stud should be pulled halfway. pull whole frame once all four done.

[Topcat]

I always punched them out from the back side with a 1/8" drift and a small hammer.